The impact of acquired brain damage in terms of epidemiology,economics and loss in quality of life

Background  

Patients with acquired brain damage (ABD) have suffered a brain lesion that interrupts vital development in the physical, psychological and social spheres. Stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are the two main causes. The objectives of this study were to estimate the incidence and prevalence of ABD in the population of the Basque Country and Navarre in 2008, to calculate the associated cost of the care required and finally to assess the loss in health-related quality of life.     

Sydney epilepsy incidence study to measure illness consequences: the SESIMIC observational epilepsy study protocol

Background  

Epilepsy affects an estimated 50 million people and accounts for approximately 1% of days lost to ill health globally, making it one of the most common, serious neurological disorders. While there are abundant global data on epilepsy incidence, prevalence and treatment, there is a paucity of Australian incidence data. There is also a general lack of information on the psychosocial impact and socioeconomic consequences of a new diagnosis of epilepsy on an individual, their family, household, and community which are often specific to the health and social system of each country.     

Singlet oxygen mediated DNA degradation by copper nanoparticles: potential towards cytotoxic effect on cancer cells

The DNA degradation potential and anti-cancer activities of copper nanoparticles of 4-5 nm size are reported. A dose dependent degradation of isolated DNA molecules by copper nanoparticles through generation of singlet oxygen was observed. Singlet oxygen scavengers such as sodium azide and Tris [hydroxyl methyl] amino methane were able to prevent the DNA degradation action of copper nanoparticles confirming the involvement of activated oxygen species in the degradation process. Additionally, it was observed that the copper nanoparticles are able to exert cytotoxic effect towards U937 and Hela cells of human histiocytic lymphoma and human cervical cancer origins, respectively by inducing apoptosis. The growth characteristics of U937 and Hela cells were studied applying various concentrations of the copper nanoparticles.     

A wavelet-based ECG delineation algorithm for 32-bit integer online processing

Background  

Since the first well-known electrocardiogram (ECG) delineator based on Wavelet Transform (WT) presented by Li et al. in 1995, a significant research effort has been devoted to the exploitation of this promising method. Its ability to reliably delineate the major waveform components (mono- or bi-phasic P wave, QRS, and mono- or bi-phasic T wave) would make it a suitable candidate for efficient online processing of ambulatory ECG signals. Unfortunately, previous implementations of this method adopt non-linear operators such as root mean square (RMS) or floating point algebra, which are computationally demanding.     

Antibacterial Activity,Cytotoxicity and Mechanisms of action of Cathelicidin Peptides against Enteric Pathogens in Weaning Piglets

In the last few decades, long-term and high-dose usage of antibiotics in livestock diets has led to the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, antibiotic residues in animal products and environmental pollution, adversely affecting animal health. Because of these concerns, a study screening cathelicidin peptides from different animal origins (i.e. protegrin-1 [PG-1], PMAP-23, LL-37, indolicidin and cathelicidin-BF [C-BF]) as antibiotic replacements with higher antimicrobial activity and lower cytotoxicity was designed to study their mechanisms towards enteric pathogens in weaning piglets. PG-1 and C-BF proved to be the most effective bacteriocids with the widest spectra of activity, with the MIC values equal to or lower than commonly used antibiotics towards several Escherichia and Salmonella strains, and showed a synergistic effect with aureomycin. Mechanism studies suggested the C-BF killing mechanism is based on membrane permeability, while multiple targets maybe exist for PG-1, including membrane and intracellular biomacromolecules. Cytotoxicity tests showed PMAP-23 and C-BF exhibited the lowest cytotoxic effects, while PG-1, LL-37 and indolicidin displayed cytotoxicity by dose. This study demonstrated that among the peptides tested, C-BF has the capacity to inactivate enteric pathogens with lower cytotoxicity and is potentially a novel anti-bacterial agent. The activity of PG-1 is highly efficient, with the potential to reduce cytotoxicity using molecular design.     

The effect of calciums on molecular motions of proteinase K

The native serine protease proteinase K binds two calcium cations. It has been reported that Ca²⁺ removal decreased the enzyme’s thermal stability and to some extent the substrate affinity, but has discrepant effects on catalytic activity of the enzyme. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed on the Ca²⁺-bound and Ca²⁺-free proteases to investigate the mechanism by which the calciums affect the structural stability, molecular motions, and catalytic activity of proteinase K. Very similar structural properties were observed between these two forms of proteinase K during simulations; and several long-lived hydrogen bonds and salt bridges common to both forms of proteinase K were found to be crucial in maintaining the local conformations around these two Ca²⁺ sites. Although Ca²⁺ removal enhanced the overall flexibility of proteinase K, the flexibility in a limited number of segments surrounding the substrate-binding pockets decreased. The largest differences in the equilibrium structures of the two simulations indicate that, upon the removal of Ca²⁺, the large concerted motion originating from the Ca1 site can transmit to the substrate-binding regions but not to the catalytic triad residues. In conjunction with the large overlap of the essential subspaces between the two simulations, these results not only provide insight into the dynamics of the underlying molecular mechanism responsible for the unchanged enzymatic activity as well as the decreased thermal stability and substrate affinity of proteinase K upon Ca²⁺ removal, but also complement the experimentally determined structural and biochemical data.